Meet the “ Mega Earth . ” Described today by uranologist from the Harvard - Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics , this ancient rough earth weighs 17 times as much as Earth — which is a big surprisal count that bouldery , solid planets are n’t supposed to get that huge .
Above : Artistic depression of the newly separate “ mega - Earth ” Kepler-10c ( foreground ) . Its sibling , the lava - world Kepler-10b , is in the screen background . Kepler-10c is incorporate of solids , although it may possess a sparse ambiance shown here as wispy cloud . mention : David A. Aguilar ( CfA )
It ’s called Kepler-10c and it ’s located about 560 light - years from Earth . It circles a sun - similar whiz , Kepler-10 , once every 45 days , so it ’s in a pretty tight sphere . The system also hosts a 3 - Earth - aggregative “ lava world , ” Kepler-10b , in a crazy - debauched 20 - minute orbit .
‘A New Population of Solid Planets’
Astronomers have known about Kepler-10c for several eld . Preliminary measure indicated a diameter of about 18,000 mile ( 29,000 klick ) , which is 2.3 times as big as Earth . base on these detail , astronomers close that Kepler-10c was amini - Neptune — planets featuring boneheaded , gaseous atmosphere .
Astronomers Say Super - world Are Actually Mini - Neptunes
But new mensuration shoot by the HARPS - North musical instrument on the the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo ( TNG ) in the Canary Islands unexpectedly revealed that the major planet weigh 17 time as much as Earth . This means that Kepler-10c must have a dense composition of rock and roll and other solids . It also features a pregnant amount of trapped body of water — about 5 % to 20 % by weight . It ’s consider the first firm example of an alone new socio-economic class of hearty planets with spate above 10x that of Earth .
With its significant masses , the satellite exhibit a control surface gravity of about 30 chiliad / s² , which equate to Earth ’s 9.78 m / s² . That ’s over three times as much .
As an divagation , astronomers have discoveredmassive gasolene giants about 13 multiplication the mickle of Jupiter .
uranologist give away a planet so massive it defies categorisation
Not Supposed To Exist
“ We were very surprised when we realized what we had incur , ” noted stargazer lead astronomer Xavier Dumusque of the Harvard - Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics ( CfA ) in a statement .
Prior to this discovery , astronomers did n’t believe a planet like this could form . accord to theory , an physical object this heavy should have draw and quarter in hydrogen accelerator as it get into a Jupiter - alike throttle planet . Kepler-10c did n’t lose its atmosphere over fourth dimension . And in fact , because it ’s massive enough to have held onto one , it belike never forge one in the first piazza .
But this planet is for literal , hence the fresh “ mega - Earth ” compartmentalisation , and a require reconsideration of current planet formation hypothesis .
According to CfA astronomer Lars A. Buchhave , there may be a correlation between the orbital period of a satellite and the sizing at which a major planet transitions from rough to gaseous . If he ’s right , it ’s likely that more mega - Earths will be recover as uranologist name planets further - out from their legion stars .
Where There’s Rock, There May Be Life
“ This is the Godzilla of Earths ! ” said CfA investigator Dimitar Sasselov . “ But unlike the moving-picture show monster , Kepler-10c has positive implications for life . ”
Indeed , the Kepler-10 organization is absolutely ancient — about 11 billion years old , which mean it work less than 3 billion years after the Big Bang . But back then , the early universe was deficient in silicon and atomic number 26 . These heavy element are needed to make rough planets . This suggests that the universe was able to form vast rocks even during the time when sonorous elements were scarce .
“ Finding Kepler-10c tell us that bumpy planets could forge much earlier than we remember . And if you’re able to make rocks , you’re able to make living , ” added Sasselov .
Related : What a inhabitable major planet Twice the Size of Earth Would Be Like|This is the declamatory yellow hypergiant wizard ever discovered
What a Habitable Planet Twice the Size of Earth Would Be Like
This is the turgid yellow hypergiant lead ever discovered
This is significant because it means that former stars can not only host terra firma - like terrene planets , they could also be potentially inhabitable .
But do n’t get your Bob Hope up about Kepler-10c . It feature a temperature of 485 ° K ( 211 ° C/413 ° F ) — almost four times as raging as Jupiter .
These findings were presented today in a military press conference at a encounter of the American Astronomical Society ( AAS ) : “ The Kepler-10 planetary system revisited by HARPS - N : A hot jumpy domain and a solid Neptune - mass planet . ”
Astronomyextrasolar planetsScience
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